Decreased consumer demand for discretionary purchases combined with stepped-up competition from the conventional channel is leading to weaker results for natural and organic food retailers, a financial analyst said in a report Monday....More

New-store productivity at Sprouts Farmers Market has risen by about 15% — to an average of $320,000 per week — as the company has broadened its assortment and shifted its focus from being a specialty store to an everyday healthy grocery store, the company’s CFO told investors Thursday....More

Any sales weakness exhibited by Sprouts Farmers Market during the first quarter is only temporary, analysts said Friday, a day after the company reported comparable store sales of 4.8%, slightly below its forecast of 5% to 6%....More